EO Nashville Member News - February 8

Three Things for EO Nashville This Week

Let’s step back to the 80's and your TV set – whether it had bunny ears or a slide cable box! And, what better way to celebrate and build house camaraderie than with the classic television game show Family Feud – LIVE with EO Houses competing! Questions will be EO Nashville tailored ranging from informative to frivolous, serious, funny or anywhere in between! We will even transition from Family Feud to MTV with tunes from the 80's!

You won't want to miss this LIVE game show complete with show set center podiums, buzzers and SURVEY SAYS game board. So dress the part, grab your favorite date and join us to celebrate the 80s!REGISTER NOW

2. 3rd Annual EO Day on the HillFebruary 19, 2019

Our 3rd Annual Day on the Hill event is quickly approaching on February 19th. We have many appointments set up with our legislators, but we still need a few members to sign up to attend these appointments. If interested, you should be prepared to commit to the entire afternoon.

There will also be a cocktail party folliowing our Day on the Hill from 5:30pm-8:00pm at Musician’s Hall of Fame. You must register for each of these events separately.

Please consider volunteering for this incredible community event! We are super excited to have the opportunity to continue to make EO Nashville’s presence known.

CLICK HEREto participate in the Day on the Hill visits (entire afternoon of the 19th)

CLICK HEREto register for the Day on the Hill Cocktail Reception (5:30pm-8:00pm on the 19th)

NERVE is the East Region’s annual multi-day learning event designed to help members learn and grow as business leaders. You’ll meet other EO members from all over the region… and the world!

And we have some GREAT news! They are now offering Nashville a group deal of only $1199 (instead of $1399) for the next 20 people who register before February 25th. Please consider joining in this opportunity to get out of Nashville and appreciate all that EO has to offer.

There are multiple hotels with group rates available. Several EO Nashville members have already booked rooms at Dewberry for $349/night. Mills House is also a great, convenient option for $249/night. I strongly encourage you to book your rooms as soon as you register.

*Reminder, if you joined within 24 months of the conference, you can save another $500 by using your voucher!

EO Member News

Alex Tolbert [BerniePortal]penned an article for SmallBizDaily about why benefits matter when selecting an HR platform. He also wrote a column for BenefitsPro about why brokers should focus on helping clients with recruitment and for Employee Benefits Adviser about the effect public hospital prices will have on employers.

Andy Bailey [Petra Coach]published an article in Boss Magazine offering four tips for entrepreneurs and CEOs to improve cash flow management and forecasting.

In the News:

Parkside Builders [Brian Chastain] was mentioned in a Tennessean article about Nashville subdivisions including dog parks as an attractive amenity to homebuyers.

StyleBlueprint featured an article about Nashville’s murals and included The Nations mural located on the side of the Music City Tents and Events [Joe Freedman]building.

Two Ten Jack [Patrick Burke] was mentioned in the Nashville Scene as a perfect first date dinner location. The Nashville Scene referenced the restaurant’s chefs for their original Goo Goo Cluster creations. The Nashville Ledger listed The Green Pheasant as a new Nashville restaurant to try for Valentine’s Day.

The Tennessean listed Beyond the Edge [Matthew Charette] as a restaurant with enticing Super Bowl specials.

Village Real Estate Services [Mark Deutschmann] was mentioned in a Nashville Post article about major personnel movements in Nashville’s real estate sector.

The Williamson Source and the Lebanon Democrat announced Zander Insurance’s[Shervin Eftekhari] new Life Lessons Scholarship Program available to Middle Tennessee college students whose parent or guardian passed away with little to no life insurance.

A broker from Eakin Partners [Barry Smith] will be handling the marketing of a new West Side development located near Novatech [Darren Metz], as mentioned in the Nashville Post.

The Nashville Post mentioned Smith Gee Studios [Hunter Gee]as the designer of a new East Nashville condo project. The company has also been enlisted to help with land-planning efforts for a new midtown hotel, as reported by the Nashville Post. The Nashville Business Journal mentioned that the company is involved in the proposal for four new high rises surrounding Cummins Station.

Employee Benefits Adviser and the Nashville Post reported that Wellview Health [James Story] has added new telemedicine benefits to their suite of services which will allow for 24/7 access to healthcare professionals.

FanCarpet announced the list of nominations for the Royal Television Society’s 2019 Television Journalism Awards, which is sponsored by GuestBooker [George Uribe].

Benjamin and Max Goldberg [Strategic Hospitality]plan to open a restaurant/bar with an entertainment component in the Nashville airport, as reported by the Tennessean. The Catbird Seat and Bastion were included in a Nashville Scene list of perfect anniversary dinner options. A Bastion bartender was quoted on his favorite “grocery store” beer in an Uproxx article and his favorite budget mezcal in a different Uproxx article. The same Bastion bartender and the bar manager at Henrietta Red listed their favorite sour beers in an Uproxx article.

The Nashville Business Journal featured a Q&A with the Nashville Soccer Club [Christopher Redhage] CEO, who mentioned that his favorite local restaurant is Henrietta Red [Benjamin and Max Goldberg].

The Band Box [Benjamin and Max Goldberg] and Project 615 [Derek Evans] were listed in a Fox 17 News article about local restaurants and retailers coming to the Nashville airport.

MediaPost mentioned that redpepper [Tim McMullen]recently added two new clients to its roster.

The Kirkland Company [William Kirkland] was mentioned in a Nashville Post article about facilitating the purchase of an apartment complex located near Murfreesboro Road.

If a deal is reached for the project, Bell & Associates [Darek Bell] has been selected to build a pedestrian bridge connecting the Gulch to SoBro, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The company was also featured in the Nashville Post for building one of the new Nashville Yards towers.

The Nashville Post reported that a mixed-use building that would involved Smith Gee Studio [Hunter Gee]is being eyed in Wedgewood-Houston. The building neighbors Corsair Distillery [Darek Bell].

Goal, Stars and Stripes and the Nashville Post reported that the MLS rejected defender Andrew Gutman’s transfer from Celtic FC to the Nashville Soccer Club [Christopher Redhage].

Rory Vaden [Brand Builders Group] was mentioned in The Good Men Project for his principle about success not being owned, only rented.

Alan Young [Armor Concepts]and an employee of Fivestone Studios [Traylor Woodall]were quoted in a Nashville Business Journal article about Nashville’s major banks’ changes in leadership.

David Box [Trinisys]was featured in a Nashville Post gallery for winning Company of the Year at the 10th Annual NTC Awards.

Strategic Alliance Partner News:

Nashville Medical News noted that Baker Donelson had been named by Leadership Health Care (LHC) as the Supporting Organization of the Year for its ongoing commitment to LHC. Matt Sweeney was recently elected by the Metro Council as one of 11 inaugural members of the Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board, which was established by referendum amendment to the Metro Charter. The board is tasked with the investigation of allegations of police misconduct, monitoring of the department's handling of citizen complaints, the submission of recommendations as to officer discipline and the development of proposed public policy on related issues. His nomination was mentioned in the story, "Council selects members for Community Oversight Board" on WKRN .com.

EO Member Spotlight

Alex Tolbert

Alex Tolbert started Bernard Health during his studies at Vanderbilt University after learning about the healthcare industry’s misaligned incentives. The company was founded with the idea of using health savings accounts to better align the industry and help consumers. Since then, the team has worked hard to grow the company and its value proposition to include proprietary HR software and advisory services, and has broker, provider and financial advisor partners around the country. The company’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted advisor in helping people plan for their healthcare.

What is a personal piece of advice (business advice/saying/quote) that you lean on and could pass on to others?

Just start a business. It doesn't really matter what it is, just start something, get some cash flow, and go from there. This was really valuable to me, as at the time I was on the bubble about what to do because I wasn't sure I had a "good idea." It helped give me a little push to just do something.

One misstep you took in your business that you could caution others about?

A big regulatory change wreaked havoc on our retail store business a few years ago. We could have acted more quickly and deliberately in some areas to respond to the change. If something like it ever happens again, I hope I'm much more deliberate about getting my leadership team away for a day or two to generate alternatives and chart a path forward.

How to you de-stress after a particularly hard day?

Alone time.

What EO event are you most looking forward to attending in the next few months?

I look forward to everything I do related to EO. Most of all, I look forward to my forum meeting each month.

What’s something about you that would surprise everyone reading this?

I'm married to a former college rugby player who broke her ribs and her nose when playing against LSU (ribs) and Alabama (nose).

Any exciting plans for Winter that you would like to share?

Going on a Disney Cruise with extended family – we've heard they're a lot of fun and so we're really looking forward to it!

We have six spots at this leadership panel discussion moderatred by Dr. Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University. The panel will consist of: Jeff Drummonds, Managing Partner, LBMC, Jaynee Day, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, Senior Executive of Change Healthcare and Senior Executive of AllianceBernstein.